This archive report was first published on 25 December 2019.
On December 25, 2019, seven Eritrean soccer players went missing after a tournament in Uganda, sparking concerns about their safety and well-being. This incident marks the second time in two months that Eritrean footballers have disappeared while touring the country.
According to Rogers Mulindwa, spokesman for the regional soccer association CECAFA, the players appeared to have evaded tight security at their hotel on Monday evening. However, there were no further details on their whereabouts.
Dozens of Eritrean athletes have refused to return home or disappeared while competing abroad over the past decade, often in a bid to claim asylum. This phenomenon is not new, as thousands of Eritreans flee their small Horn of Africa country every year, citing political repression and lengthy military conscription.
One notable incident occurred in October, when five Eritrean players disappeared from their hotel during another CECAFA tournament in Uganda. In 2012, 14 members of the Eritrea soccer squad also vanished, again while playing in a CECAFA tournament in Uganda.
President Isaias Afwerki has ruled Eritrea since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The country's population is around five million, and the United Nations estimated in late 2018 that a further 500,000 Eritreans were refugees.
